2.3. Procurement process and contracts

Sustainable selection criteria

Transport companies must be encouraged to select suppliers and products on the basis of their energy use and carbon performance. Or they should at least be encouraged to give performance in these areas a stronger influence on purchasing decisions. This builds on the EU Clean Vehicles Directive, which requires that energy and environmental impacts linked to the operation of vehicles over their lifetime are taken into account in purchasing decisions. For that to happen, it would be useful to lobby national and EU-level governments for stricter standards on energy efficiency and carbon content for traded goods and services.

Further implementation of sustainable selection criteria in procurement would also support the public transport sector in its effort to reduce Scope 3 GHG emissions from its supply chain. It would also further support the development of low-carbon products and services and reduce the financial risks for organisations developing new lowcarbon services.

Procurement teams must be encouraged to develop specifications and criteria, alongside project and programme managers. Suppliers should also be involved in the development of suitable criteria and data requirements to ensure that this does not add significant costs to their products and services.

Joint procurement of low-carbon vehicles

The development of joint procurement strategies and programmes for the purchase of low-carbon rolling stock has to be accelerated, at least at national level. Operators can join existing or new joint procurement initiatives.

Joint procurement of low-carbon rolling stock should:

support the development of a critical mass of public transport authorities and operators willing to invest in low-carbon rolling stock (supporting investment in this emerging market)

help with capacity and knowledge issues, especially for smaller organisations, by pooling knowledge and expertise across organisations

deliver cost savings through economies of scale (where similar rolling stock can be used in different locations).